HP iPAQ 114 Classic Handheld
April 1, 2008 - By Justin Hartman
Having owned one of the original HP iPAQ PDA’s in the past I was particularly interested to see what the HP iPAQ 114 Classic Handheld could offer. One of the noticeable differences between early first-generation HP PDA’s and this stylish-looking 114 Classic is the weight. My original HP iPAQ was very heavy and was a real burden to carry around with me but the iPAQ 114 Classic weighs a little over 114g which is highly impressive.
The iPAQ 114 Classic is a very attractive PDA and features a plastic, chrome plated front panel with a smooth, slip resistant backing making it a stylish companion to your cellphone. The device features a 3.5-inch transflective TFT RGB color 240×320 pixel touch screen outputting 65,000 colours in 16-bit mode and it’s small enough to carry in your pocket yet big enough to work with great ease.
Connect with ease
The 114 Classic has integrated 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi with WPA2 security as well as Bluetooth v2.0 with EDR allowing you to connect when you want to keep in touch with the people who matter. I must say I found the Wi-Fi particularly useful when lazing about on the couch as I could pop off emails in a snap and go online whenever I needed.
Productivity at your fingertips
The PDA features Windows Mobile 6.0 Classic and features all the necessary productivity applications that you’d expect on a Windows device such as Office Mobile (with Word, Excel and PowerPoint), Office Outlook Mobile, Internet Explorer Mobile and Windows Media Player 10. The only bug-bearer here is that email only synchronises if you have Microsoft Outlook 2000 or later on your PC and it is not compatible with Outlook Express at all.
The iPAQ 114 Classic comes with a mini-USB connector for synchronization and charging so you can always keep those important meetings, documents and email in sync for when you’re not at your desk.
It does Multimedia too
Any good businessman needs to balance work and life with digital entertainment. With the HP iPAQ 114 Classic you can listen to music and watch videos with Windows Media Player Mobile. Added to this you can also view, share, and manage your photos with HP Photosmart Mobile and play pre-installed games or download your favourites from the Internet.
Power and Storage
The Marvell 624Mhz processor gives satisfactory response time and coupled with the 64MB SDRAM for running applications I found very little lag when opening up the various applications. There is a standard 256MB Flash ROM drive which gives you around 190MB to store additional applications and documents on the device but it has an added SD card slot so you can upgrade your storage at any time.
There is a removable/rechargeable 1200 mAh Lithium-Ion battery and between the battery life improvements in Windows Mobile 6.0 and the power saving properties of the new Marvell processor, battery life on the iPAQ is outstanding. By playing high-end video on it to test the longevity, the iPAQ 114 Classic finally died just past the four hour mark. Standby time on the device is just as good and I’ve had our review unit on standby for more than a week now.
What’s in the box
- HP iPAQ 114 Classic Handheld
- 1200 mAh Lithium-ion battery
- AC Charger
- Mini-USB Cable
- Stylus
- Attractive Leather Case
- Setup Assistant, Software and Documentation
Conclusion
The HP iPAQ 114 Classic Handheld is a great device and the new processor and Windows Mobile 6.0 improves overall performance on an often sluggish operating system. I can really see the value in businessmen owning and using this device as it not only syncs important data between the PDA and PC but it also provides all the right productivity tools so you can work while being mobile.
That said I think it does lack phone functionalities and it’s not my personal choice when it comes to a multimedia device. Cellphones have advanced greatly over the last couple years and I really feel the iPAQ 114 Classic would be a winner if it had cellphone functionality. If multimedia is your thing then I’d rather buy an 8GB iPod Touch. Comparatively the PDA and iPod Touch are about the same price but the Touch has a better output and is made for multimedia.
Price and Availability
Price: R3,000
Available: Online and at all major retailers.
Rate this review:
(4 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
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Filed Under Computing, Featured Reviews, Handhelds, Hewlett Packard
Now if this had cell phone capabilities, i could see myself with it (doble teh price for that off course)
I’m not sure I get it, at that price it makes more sense to get a smartphone.
I also used to own a Compaq PDA back in the day (which was a glorified games and movie machine) and it was cool but I never really got much use out of it.
All I could imagine a PDA for is email and appointments which any phone from the past 5 years can do.
I completely agree, the PDA is pretty much at its end. Smartphones(esp touch screen ones) have taken over the role of these puppies.
thats exactly why i said, it would have been more attractive if it had cellphone features
can you surf the web via the usb sync cable? i understand that this may sound like a silly question, but say your wifi is down temporary or something, just wondered if its possible?
Thanks
Hi Linus. I have no idea if this is possible. We never tested whether this would work or not but if you’d like I can contact the guys from HP if you want?
hey Justin
that would be really helpful, let me know what HP say
Thanks =]
just a quick update, i decided to go out and buy one anyways (£103, bargin!!) and yes you can browse the web via the usb cable =D
Awesome, thanks for the update Linus…!